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Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Homage to the pie

When you discover something that's spectacular perfection in every way, you are given a true gift. I feel this way about the banana cream pie from Apple Pan in West Los Angeles. My devotion has never wained after all these years of unwavering pie admiration.

The crust is exactly the way crust should be - flaky and thin. The custard is the perfect consistency with a simple not too sweet flavor. The bananas are ripe and you get at least one banana in each slice. The fresh whipped cream on top adds just the right balance. Every bite is divine and savored. Calories absolutely do not matter and never a thought for one second - it would be practically blasphemous to do so. After all, who cares when you are in pure food bliss?

I brought this pie to my Grandma Ruth on her last birthday. She was barely eating, managing to only drink Ensure. She ate two whole bites of this pie and with a huge smile declared it "delicious". When she died two days later, I remembered the happy smile on her face when she ate that pie and I will always cherish that last memory of her.

For the first time on Sunday, my own children got their first taste. They "ummmm'd" and "yumm'd" with every bite. The look on their faces as they devoured the pie was almost as good as eating it myself. Well, not really, that's a lie, but, you get the idea.